The Single Mom Teeth Whitening Scam
80
Like so many things in life, we’ve been sold the idea that we can only be happy when the colour of our teeth is a shade of white that will match our kitchens or bathrooms. Actually, for once I can’t blame the ad-men as it turns out that in the 17th Century, some barbers would use nitric acid to whiten teeth! Even worse, the Ancient Romans thought that urine was good for whitening teeth!
Nowadays, teeth whitening is usually based around using peroxide products. Luckily, if you’re vanity demands you risk acid burns, increased tooth sensitivity and gum irritation there are plenty of options from professional dentistry to varying-degrees-of-dodgy-and/or-ineffective home applications.
But what if you’re vain and cheap? Well, if you believe in the adverts the internet spews at you then it turns out that a single mom/mum has found a new (and cheap) solution. I’ve seen a couple of versions of this, one by a ‘Sandy C.’ and one by a ‘Becky Bell’, but the basic set up is the same.
Each of these obviously fabricated women has a ‘blog’ with just one story on it which turns out to be the inspirational story of how each of them stumbled upon the wonderful ruse of using two ‘free’ trial products simultaneously to whiten their teeth.
Each ‘blog’ is littered with a trail of gratified clones all clamouring to shout that this ‘really works’ so as to convince the unwary reader of each site’s legitimacy. Likewise, both blogs use the logos of prominent news organisations to make readers think that these sites are more legit than they actually are.
So far, so suspicious. Each of the blog supplies ‘promo codes’ so you can get your own ‘free’ samples. The point is obvious. You are supposed to think ‘what have I got to lose?’
The sad fact is you can potentially lose quite a lot. Like the acai berry scams, these teeth whitening scams are based on the idea that anyone who thinks that this looks like a good deal is probably not savvy enough to read the terms and conditions attached.
All of these scams work on the following basis:
- You sign up for two products and only pay a minimal amount for postage.
- After a set period of time (usually 14/15 days) if you haven’t cancelled they will take a set amount from your account (anything up to $80). They will keep taking money on a monthly basis until you cancel your order. They will usually mention this in the small print, but they’re banking on you being too stupid to notice this.
- They make it difficult or impossible to cancel. They do this by making it hard to find a contact number, by making you wait on hold for ages, by putting you through to someone who doesn’t speak intelligible English or by just flat-out ignoring you.
The really smart thing about this scam is that they get you twice for two ‘different’ products which means they sell twice as many of their scam products and make it twice as difficult to cancel.
There are plenty of ways to get whiter teeth, but folks the sad fact is there are (probably) no easy or cheap ways. Please don’t let these scam artists make a fool out of you. And if you have been caught out by this, then please do yourself a favour and cancel your credit card, because they will keep on taking money from you for as long as they can.
|
Crest Whitestrips Supreme Professional Strength 84 strips
Price: $46.00
List Price: $116.00 |
|
2 - Professional 35% Tooth Whitening Kits with New FCP Anti-Cavity Gels / 20ml by Watts Power White
Price: $32.45
List Price: $109.99 |
|
Crest Whitestrips Pro Effects,10-Day Dental Whitening Formula System, 40 Strips (Packaging May Vary)
Price: $19.97
List Price: $39.99 |
|
Optimized Professional 35% Teeth Whitening Kit with NEW FCP Enamel Booster Gels Plus Teeth Trays By Watts Power White
Price: $15.94
List Price: $39.99 |
PrintShare it! — Rate it: up down flag this hub
Comments
you are 100% right on the money (no pun). I too fell for the "Single college student mother of two finds the secret for whiter teeth for under 5.00 dollars" and the two promotional codes that indeed allowed me to get two "trial" products for $3.00. That said, I haven't received a single product and I just spent two hours of my unemployed morning canceling two products on one of the two "trial offers".
Not only does "Dazzle white" or "sparkle white" and "premium white" charge you 87.98 for a month of the "trial" BEFORE you've received any product, they also add a "free" subscription to some fitness entity (online of course) and I'm sure a myriad of other "companies". While trying to cancel online, I was informed that I'd still be charged the 87.98 if I didn't return the product within the 14 day trial.
Here is the BEST part: they establish a date 21 days from the order date to bill you and assume you will receive the product(s) within 7 days have 14 days to use them and if you don't call, that initial date sticks even if you never received the products! AND it's completely legal.
I will be filing scam reports on ripoffreport.com and with the BBB. I'm usually the first one to spot a scam however, I figure I can cancel during the trial period and you are again 100% right - they make it nearly impossible to do so. I will be disputing all charges from all of these people for the balance of my day.
Thank you for posting this!
Ethel, thanks a lot for your comment, I'm pretty paranoid myself!
Maureen, really sorry to hear your story but thanks a lot for posting your experiences. It's unbelievable what these scammers get away with. Best of luck getting your money back.
Thanks for share this information. nice hub. We have to avoid this type of scam.
Many thanks for this information !
I have seen a lot of these ads recently though thankfully I am a poor subject for internet scams.I usually operate on the commonsense premise that anything advertised as 'secret' or 'quick' methods of doing anything are probably too good to be true.Coupled with the fact that i live in almost permanent pauperism, i usually dont take any bait..lol.
Any product with a bleaching agent is sure to do permanent damage to the tooth's enamel I would imagine.
Thanks again for highlighting this scam, hubs like this which cut through the bullsh*t are a much welcomed public service for us hubbers !
Maith thu !
Thanks...was told about a great whitening offer by a friend, and when I googled Becky Bell your info came up...Thanks so much..I was ready to give up my CC #
You R an angel
j
Thanks for the comments guys.
J, I'm really glad to hear this hub stopped you from wasting your hard-earned money.
I am so glad you have written this hub. I came across this a few months back, and nearly applied, as I had read the blog you speak of. For some reason I was very wary and did not follow through with the dazzle white. Glad I never now as since this time I have read several reviews, like yours, stating the same thing.
I really hate all of the ads I see on almost every web page these days, but it doesn't change the fact that it is still a "buyer beware" world.
Scams have been run since the dawn of time and they always will. There is no such thing as trial period products on the internet or on an infomercial. It is guaranteed that if you give one of these fraudulent companies your credit card number they WILL squeeze money out of you in some scummy way.
The really sad thing is, that enough people actually fall for these scams, that the fraudulent companies are still able to buy infomercial time, banner ad space, etc. to keep ripping people off.
The networks and webmasters are also to blame. I know that it takes money to host things and keep a television station alive, but it doesn't change the fact that those people are providing the medium for which the scammers use to take your money. In some ways this is worse!
Just be careful and most importantly do the slightest amount of research before buying any product or investing in anything.
Helen thanks for your comment, you were definitely right to be wary!
Paros, thanks for commenting. I agree people need to be more careful. You can't afford to give your card details away to anyone without doing your research first.
I also note that this hub has attracted the attention of the scammers themselves! I'm going to leave Sherry's post up for the time being just in case the cancellation number actually works.
Since customer service is your 'number one priority', I'd like to know how you plan on reimbursing customers who have been ripped off by your small print?
I've come across scams like this as well luckily for me when I place the order I make sure to put the shipping amount on a seperate debit card, it goes through and i dont have to worry about them charging my credit cards. I have come across other scams as well with online clothing stores that i talk about in my hubs.
Knowledge IS power! Every time i saw that add about a mom and her simple discovery, I wondered...and was tempted, I hate to admit...wonders no more! Great job!
Brandon, thanks for your comment, glad to see you've found a way to outwit the scammers!
tnderhrt23, thanks for stopping by and commenting. There's no shame in being tempted, it's part of human nature to want things to come easily, unfortunately the scammers know this and use it to their advantage. Glad this hub has been useful to you!
Thanks for posting this. You have just confirmed what I already suspected - that this was just a scam!
Having been stung in the past for being charged for products/services I no longer want, I now avoid submitting CC details for 'FREEBIES'.
I am now put off purchasing anything with an auto-order. I would prefer to be invoiced first!
I've actually just signed up to HP today, and I've already seen the tooth whitening ad on a couple of the Hub Pages I've visited!
Thanks for the research, what I don't understand is how they get so much good advertising space. You see their ads everywhere all the time!
Brandon, when you give them your DEBIT card, you are risking the money in your bank account.
With a credit card, the money charged is the card issuer's money - you didn't pay your credit card bill yet and you can dispute the amount; however, when they charge your DEBIT card, YOUR money is gone. Very difficult to get your money back.
I was slightly worried about this when I went to a webiste that obviously picked up the info of where I live and dropped it into the article... a real rookie mistake that would get anyone thinking something's wrong. Also we don't say 'mom' or 'elementary school' in New Zealand.
Scammer are getting clever, but clearly not all that clever.
|
Opalescence PF 35% Teeth Whitening 4pk Mint Flavor Syringes
Price: $17.50
|
|
Nite White Excel 3 ACP Z 22% Teeth Whitening 6pk Kit (Latest Product)
Price: $19.99
List Price: $79.00 |
|
WHITENING Moldable BLEACH Trays for OPALESCENCE Whitening Teeth 3 TRAYS
Price: $3.99
|
|
Opalescence PF 35% Teeth Whitening 8pk of Mint flavor syringes (Latest product)
Price: $32.25
|
ethel smith says:
3 weeks ago
Thanks for bringing this scam to light. Although at my age I trust few people these days lol